RAW Chocolate Mousse Tarts

After I made the raw tacos last week, I decided to concoct a raw chocolate mousse. (Remember my sister was visiting and she adores chocolate!) It turned out fabulous...I even topped it with some fresh chocolate mint from my garden. Heaven!

Chocolate Mousse Tarts

(crust)

1 cup almonds (soaked for added nutrition)

3 T raw agave

Process ingredients in a food processor until they start to form a ball. Line a muffin tin and place 1 T scoop in each tin and press down. Makes 12 tarts. Place in freezer to form.

(filling)

2 ripe avocados, peeled

1/2 cup dates

2 T coconut oil

2 T raw cacao

2 T water

3 T raw agave

pinch Himalayan salt

pinch cinnamon (optional)

Place all ingredients in Vitamix and blend well until smooth consistency. Set in fridge/freezer until cold. Put  spoonfuls on tart crust and top with desired garnishes. Serve cold.

(garnish)

fresh raspberries

fresh mint

RAW Tacos

These are SO GOOD!!  I absolutely LOVE Mexican food and I have been wanting to experiment with making some raw tacos for quite some time. My sister was here from St. George last week. Since I knew she would appreciate eating raw food, it was just the motivation I needed to make these. There are many layers to the taco, but you can change it up however you would like. You can also make up everything ahead of time for convenience and then place in fridge. Enjoy!

RAW Tacos

(Taco Filling)

1 cup walnuts

1 t cumin

1/2 t chipotle chili powder

1/2 t dried oregano

1/2 T EVOO

1/2 T Bragg liquid aminos

1/4 t Himalayan salt

1/8 t garlic powder

Place all ingredients in a food processor and process until desired consistency.

(Taco Elements)

greens for "shell" (butter lettuce, collards, cabbage, etc) 

baby carrots, chopped 

yellow bell pepper, chopped 

cilantro, chopped

avocado, sliced

Fresh Salsa

Cheezy Queso

Create the raw taco of your dreams by adding desired ingredients. The sky is the limit!

Apple Blueberry Green Smoothie

 Sometimes putting certain colors of fruit in green smoothies helps my children eat them. Case in point, my son does not really love drinking green smoothies if they look too green...I have found that putting blueberries in his green smoothie makes it a more purple/gray/dark green color and then he gobbles it right up. Hence the creation of the apple blueberry green smoothie! (My son LOVES apples and he usually wants to try whatever I make if it has apples in it.)

 Apple Blueberry Green Smoothie

1 cup water

2-3 cups spinach

2 cups frozen blueberries

1 apple

1 frozen banana

1 T raw agave (optional)

Place all ingredients in Vitamix and blend well. Remember to add ice if you are using fresh blueberries/bananas instead of frozen. And of course serve it with a special smoothie straw! Makes approximately one quart. 

"Just Like My Dad's" Salsa

 

My Dad makes amazing salsa. It is addicting!! I finally have come up with my own version of his specialty!  One thing to note about salsa is that it will always taste just a little different depending on how sweet, spicy, and fresh your ingredients are...and everyone likes theirs just a little different. So this is a basic recipe you can add more or less spice to depending on taste!

One more thing....I learned from my parents growing up that when you are cooking with tomatoes, you need to add some sweetener for the best taste. My mom always added brown sugar to her spaghetti sauce and my dad always adds sugar to his salsa! I of course use a natural sweetener, but it is definitely my secret ingredient in this salsa!!

"Just Like My Dad's" Salsa

1 yellow onion

2 t minced garlic

1-2 jalapenos, seeds removed

10 Roma tomatoes, cut in half

juice of 1/2 lime

3/4 t Himalayan salt

1/4 t cumin

1-2 T raw honey (my secret ingredient-pure maple syrup is also good)

1/2 cup chopped cilantro (another must for great salsa!)

Take onion, garlic and jalapeno and process in food processor until desired consistency. Pour into bowl. Add tomatoes to food processor and process until desired consistency. I like mine fairly chunky. Add lime, seasonings and honey and mix well. Add cilantro and stir until combined. Taste salsa and add more salt/spice/sweet if needed. Serve immediately for best results.

Green Smoothies Popsicles

 We love making green smoothie popsicles! I first got my son to even taste a green smoothie by making it into a popsicle!! I adore these ice pop molds. They are bpa free, they have a sturdy base to stand them in, they have drip guards, they are dishwasher safe, they are the perfect size, and they are easy to use.

Green Smoothies Popsicles 

Once you have a good ice pop mold, making green smoothie popsicles is easy. First make your favorite green smoothie recipe. We just made the Pineapple Berry Green Smoothie into popsicles here. You will need approximately 1/2 cup of smoothie for each popsicle. Place the lids on and freeze until solid. Once they are frozen you can even take them off the base and they store neatly. Enjoy!

Pineapple Berry Green Smoothie

 This is the perfect green smoothie for someone who wants to start drinking green smoothies and is also great for children. When you first start adding green smoothies to your lifestyle, I think it is best if you start with spinach as your greens (it is more mild) and use more fruit than greens. I would start with 40% greens and 60% fruit and then gradually add more greens until you have at least 50% greens! I think using sweeter fruit like pineapple is also a great idea. This is my children's favorite green smoothie currently. And you can always add more greens as your taste buds change which makes it a good recipe for anyone! I also give my children special wide smoothie straws that we only use for green smoothies, which they love!!  (I found these colored ones at Bed Bath and Beyond.) Enjoy!

  

Pineapple Berry Green Smoothie

1 can pineapple (100% juice)

2 cups water

4-6 cups spinach (newbys start with 4)

1 1/2 cups frozen strawberries

1 1/2 cups blueberries

1 frozen banana

Place the pineapple, water and greens in your blender. Blend lightly. Add berries and banana and mix well in Vitamix. Add ice if not using frozen fruit to attain the consistency you want.

Frozen Lemon Juice Cubes

Whenever you can get a great deal on lemons (or limes) a clever, money saving thing to do is juice them and then make ice cubes. Then whenever you need some fresh lemon juice, you will have it conveniently in your freezer and it prevents your citrus from spoiling.

Simply juice the lemons or limes and pour the juice into ice cube trays. What is great is the ice cube trays hold 2 T of juice, which is usually the increments that you need it in for a recipe! After they are frozen, transfer the cubes into freezer bags to store in the freezer.

When you want to use them, you can pull them out an hour or so before to thaw or just use the frozen cubes directly in your recipe depending on what you are making.

Coconut Almond Cookies with Lemon Cheesecake Frosting

These cookies are adapted from a recipe I saw in the book Rawmazing Desserts. I changed a lot of the techniques and process of the recipe to make it easier and more raw friendly.  Here is my version! 

Coconut Almond Cookies with Lemon Cheesecake Frosting

(Cookies) 

1 cup raw almonds, soaked for 4 hours

1 1/2 cups unsweetened coconut

1/4 cup coconut oil

1/4 cup pure maple syrup*

1/4 cup agave

Process soaked almonds in a food processor. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Scoop cookie dough with a 1 T stainless steel scoop onto nonstick dehydrator sheets. Flatten dough into a cookie shape. Dehydrate at 105 degrees for approximately 12 hours, turning half way.  

(Frosting)

1 cup cashews, soaked for 4 hours

1/4 cup agave

1/2 cup lemon juice

zest of 2 lemons

1/3 cup coconut oil

1/2 t pure vanilla extract

1 T nutritional yeast

pinch of Himalayan salt

Combine all ingredients in a Vitamix and blend until smooth. Place frosting in fridge to get cold and firm. Place a spoonful on cookie before serving and top with fresh raspberry if desired.

*maple syrup is not raw but sometimes used in raw food preparations.